


You'll Be in My Heart

by Briar_Rose7



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Btw this is angsty, Especially not the flaming air, F/M, I'm evil, So Hades is the God of the Underworld but don't imagine it like the Ouat version, So much angst, Written before 5B even aired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:18:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7030588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Briar_Rose7/pseuds/Briar_Rose7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma drags an unwilling Gold to the Underworld, but she doesn't know that he has a plan of his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Reason

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a fic I wrote back in January but that I only found the time and courage to post now.  
> Possibly the angstiest (I cried writing it) and longest thing I've ever written. It has three chapters and I'll try to update it once a week. Infinite thanks to mariequitecontrarie for being my beta.

Their adventure in the Underworld had proven even more complicated and dangerous than they had expected. They’d been gone from Storybrooke for months now, and more than once they’d been on the verge of death. As much as they loathed it, probably half of their group was still alive only thanks to Rumplestiltskin, who’d guided them and saved them from several nasty threats.

But everything had been worth it for Emma, especially now that they were finally facing Hades.

The ruler of the Underworld looked at them with a knowing smirk on his face and a coldness in his eyes that sent shivers down Emma’s spine. Sheer power radiated from him. 

“I have to admit that I’m pleasantly surprised: it’s been so long since someone actually managed to reach me. And those who come looking for me all have the same request, so tell me: who is it that you wish to haul away from my kingdom?”. He looked them all dead in the eyes, as if he was reading their own souls and daring them to defy him.

Before Emma could speak, he continued, “But be careful, because what you’re asking for has a price. A steep one. And remember that this is a one-time offer: none of you will ever be able to come again to the Underworld alive. So, who among all you heroes has a request for me?”.

Made even more firm in her intent by his words, Emma had already taken a half-step forward when a wave of magic hit her, sending her crashing to the ground a few feet behind her. Getting up, she realized everyone else had been knocked down like her, except… 

“I do”. Rumplestiltskin was walking towards Hades, and suddenly everything was clear to Emma: he was trying to stop her, he wanted Hook gone forever!

“Gold, STOP!”. Without even looking at her, he used his magic to freeze everyone but him and Hades. Even though she couldn’t move, Emma realized she could still talk. 

“What do you think you’re doing? You’re insane!”. This time he did look at her, and his eyes were full of such rage and determination that Emma shivered.

“I’m doing what _you_ , Miss Swan, should have done the very moment you realized bringing someone back from the dead was a possibility”. He used his magic again to silence them all, then turned back towards Hades. “I want to bring back my son”.

The god smirked at that. “I thought so. And what do you offer in exchange?” 

“My life. As it always should have been”. Hades fixed his eyes on Rumplestiltskin, who held his gaze for what looked like an eternity to Emma. Then he started slowly walking in circles around Mr. Gold.

“Tell me something, Rumplestiltskin. You’ve been here before, right?”. The other man nodded stiffly. “So you know what this place will be like for a villain like you.”

“Yes”. Hades seemed extremely interested and weirdly amused by the whole situation.

“And you also know that your son, being a hero, has peace in the afterlife. The kind of peace you will never have.”

“Yes.”

“And yet you’re ready to doom yourself to an eternity of suffering just to buy him a few decades of the fleeting and painful thing that you call life? Why don’t you just go back to your immortal existence and escape me forever?”

“My choices are none of your business. I offered you a deal, now get on with it and accept it”, Gold answered with a growl. 

Hades’ next words were spoken so quietly Emma almost didn’t hear them. “You wouldn’t even change your mind to go back to your wife?”. Rumplestiltskin was already shaking his head no when Hades added, “Not even for your unborn child?”.

Rumplestiltskin stopped dead in his tracks.

“My _what_?”

“Your child. Trust me, I never lie. Well, I hide some truths sometimes, but I never outright lie. Your wife is pregnant with your child, and I bet right now she’s worried sick because you’re gone and you might never get to see your baby’s face. Why don’t you just go back to them, to your family?”

“How would you know about all of this?”

“Let’s say that when you rule over the dead you always keep an eye on the living. You know, to see what’s coming next”.

Rumplestiltskin’s mouth was dry. A child. He and Belle were having a child, and now he didn’t know what to do. 

“Isn’t this a choice you’ve already had to make once? To go on with your heroic purpose and leave your child fatherless, or to come back home as a coward? Life really has its own sense of humor. And, I guess, death has it too”, said the lord of the Underworld. 

Hades was right; this was a choice Rumplestiltskin had already made once. He knew what he had to do. 

“Just bring him back”. He extended his right hand towards the god and held his breath until Hades squeezed it in his deadly cold one.

“Deal”.

The moment the word left Hades’ lips, a flash of light burst from their joined hands. One moment later, the heroes were freed from the freezing spell as Rumplestiltskin doubled over, a searing pain spreading in his chest. But before his body hit the ground, a pair of arms went around him, and someone gently lowered him to the floor, cradling his dying form.

“Papa… what have you done?”. Even as life was leaving him and every fiber of his being was screaming in pain, Rumplestiltskin’s smile was brighter than the Promethean flame when he finally saw his son alive again.

“Bae… I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I made so many mistakes. I’m sorry I broke so many promises-” 

“Shhh, Papa, it’s okay. I know it’s never been easy for you. But I also know that deep down you’re a good man, you’re a hero. You’re giving your own life for me.”

“It’s what’s right: you are my son. You deserve to live. You deserve to get to know your son and Henry deserves to have you back in his life.”

“Grandpa…” Henry stepped towards his grandfather, who was too weak and had too little time left to do more than smile at him before focusing once more his attention on Bae. He still had some important things to tell him.

“Just… Just promise me one thing, Bae.”

“Anything, Papa.”

“Promise me you won’t try to bring me back. I made my choice; leave me here, let me die so that you can live”. The only purpose of his life had been to protect Bae and make him happy, and now he could do that, his own life be damned. Every second of Bae’s life was definitely worth an eternity of suffering, and he would gladly pay that price for his son. 

“Okay, Papa, I won’t try. I promise.” There were tears in Neal’s eyes, but Rumplestiltskin knew those tears would soon be dried. It was someone else’s sorrow that he was worried about, because he knew it wouldn’t be dealt with as easily. 

“And please, please help Belle through this. I never deserved her, but somehow she still loves me and my death will break her heart once more. Please, don’t leave her alone”, he begged, “she’s mourned your death as though you were her own.”

“I’ll stand by her; you didn’t even need to ask. You know, I’m so glad you met her; she did a lot of good for you. For _us_.”

“Please, tell her that I’m sorry for everything, and that I’ve always loved her more than my power. And please”, he drew another ragged breath, struggling to form words, “please tell her I love our child, even though we’ll never meet.”

“You gave your life for me even though you’re having a child?”. As much as Neal knew his father loved him, this just sounded… so much, even for him.

“This time around I made the right choice. Your mother was right all those years ago: it is far better to grow up without a father than to have a coward like me as one. You’ll both be better off without me”.

Neal was shaking his head, and Rumplestiltskin tried to blink away his tears: this was the last time he would ever see his son and he wanted to remember his face as clearly as possible. 

“She was wrong”, Neal said, “she left me when I was a child but you, you stayed. You are the one who soothed my nightmares, you are the one who kissed away every scratch or bump, you’re the one who starved himself to be sure I had enough to eat. Yes, things got messy the day magic entered our life, but having you as a father was a blessing. You made me the man I am today, you taught me the value of love and sacrifice, and I can only hope I’ll manage to make Henry feel as loved as I felt with you.”

“Thank you, Bae”. Rumplestiltskin’s cheeks were covered in tears, both his son’s and his own. He had never felt so happy, so alive, as he did the moment before dying.

“I love you, Papa.”

“And I love you…” his breath was leaving him, but he fought against death, he fought his last battle to say that one word, to make it the last thing he would ever say. “…Son”.

Rumplestiltskin’s body went limp in his child’s arms, a serene smile on his face. 

  



	2. Total Eclipse of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neal is back, Rumple is gone, and everyone has to deal with that.

The moment Rumplestiltskin died, a thick mist started to form around them. Only then the heroes realized that Hades was gone, and that now that the deal was fulfilled and the price had been paid, there was no room for them in the Underworld anymore; the mist was starting to swirl faster and faster around them, ready to bring them home. Snow and Charming held onto each other, Regina hugged Henry to protect him, and Robin held them both.

Emma tried to throw herself beyond the mist, screaming the pirate’s name, but it was too late; they were trapped in the eye of a cyclone and the wind was blowing so strong that they had to close their eyes. When they finally managed to open them again, they were standing on the shore of the lake, in the same place from which they had departed months earlier, the portal now closed to them forever. 

Neal looked at his empty hands, both marveling about being alive again and shocked because his father’s body was gone. He was holding him when he’d closed his eyes, but apparently the Underworld had reclaimed his body just as much as his soul. 

“He betrayed us all. Again!”. Emma was screaming at no one in particular, but her eyes did linger on Neal a split second longer than on the others. “He made Hook die for nothing, and now he’s made sure I’ll never be able to bring him back! He took away my only chance at saving him”.

Neal, who was still kneeling on the ground, finally got up to face the mother of his son. “Emma, I know you’re hurting and I’m sorry but my father…”

“You father was a monster! And-”

“Enough of this, Emma.” Regina stepped away from Henry to face Emma together with Neal.

“Trust me, no one knows better than me how much of a manipulative bastard Rumplestiltskin could be but… what he just did was what we should have been doing since the beginning of this story: he put his son first. And he put _our_ son first, too. He gave his life to ensure their happiness and he was more selfless than we’ve been in months. You went to the Underworld because you wanted to save Hook, I went to the Underworld because I wanted to help you, and in all of this we forgot the most important thing: Henry. We dragged him along the most dangerous of quests and, as much as I hate myself for this, without Gold we probably wouldn’t have been able to protect him; he could have died back there, and it would only have been our fault. This has to stop. I know how much you’re hurting, Emma, I really do, but we have to learn from Gold about the one thing he did right”. 

Emma looked torn between punching Regina in the face and hiding herself in shame. She _had_ been selfish. She’d become so obsessed with saving Hook that she hadn’t thought of anyone else: of her parents, who’d had to leave yet another child to help her, of Robin and Regina, who’d made the same sacrifice, of Neal, whom she’d loved so dearly and who she was almost making feel guilty about being alive and, most shameful of all, of her own child. She hadn’t even thought about how badly Henry must have wanted his father back; in her mind, Hook was already covering that role. She didn’t realize she’d started crying until she felt her mother hugging her. 

“Go home and get some rest, Emma”, said Regina, her eyes full of sympathy and understanding, “I’ll take care of Henry for today”.

Emma nodded and slowly walked away with her parents. As soon as they were gone, Henry threw himself in his dad’s arms. He'd waited until that moment because it didn’t seem right to be so happy in front of his mother’s grief, but now he didn’t even know if he was laughing or crying as his father hugged him back.

“I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

“So was I. And I promise I won’t let anything tear us apart ever again. I swear it on my father’s life”.

* * *

As much as Neal had not wanted to leave his son right after they’d found each other again, he’d had to let him go with Regina. First, because he didn’t even have a home to bring him to right now; second, because he needed to talk to Belle. 

He really, really had no idea how he was going to handle that conversation, so he just focused on finding her, hoping that once he was facing her words would miraculously come.

But when he did found her in the library, words just deserted him altogether. She was so happy to see him, so relieved, and she hugged him in a way that only his father had ever done. Her baby bump was already showing and when she asked him, her eyes full of hope, where his father was, he just couldn’t say it. His voice broke and all he managed to muster was something that sounded like “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry”.

But it was enough. Realization hit her and soon she was crying in his arms. She didn’t ask how, she just sobbed against his shirt, stuttering about him being a hero and life being unfair to them. She didn’t seem to doubt for a moment that his death had been anything but heroic; her faith in him really was astonishing.

During the following hours and days, Neal and Henry filled her in on what had happened in the Underworld, and even though she showed anger for being lied to by her husband once more, she believed Neal when he told her his father had sworn he loved her more than his power. She cried many times, and they often had to stop talking to let her calm down, but by the end of the week the tale was finished and Belle was back working at the library, a tiny smile on her face despite her red, puffy eyes. 

Work helped her to cope; it gave her something to do, it prevented her from thinking. She was back living in the apartment above the library; the old Victorian house seemed too big and too cold now that Rumplestiltskin was gone forever. One day, she would have to decide what to do with the house and the pawnshop, but not now, not when it was still so painful.

One by one, the citizens of Storybrooke came to her to offer their condolences. First came Archie, then Granny, then the Dwarves. After that Aurora and Philip stopped by, surprisingly followed by Regina and Robin. Then came Snow and Charming, the Darlings, Jefferson and Grace, even Doctor Whale. Last came Emma, whose sorrow looked a bit forced, but Belle really didn’t care.

Belle wasn’t sure how she felt about Emma after what Neal and Henry had told her. She actually wasn’t sure of how she felt about a lot of things: the only thing she was sure of was that she was hurting. She cried herself to sleep almost every night, holding her swelling stomach and dreaming of all the ways things could have gone differently. More often than not, her step-son had dinner with her; Henry often joined them, and with two pairs of eyes like Rumple’s surrounding her, she felt less lonely. 

And she wasn’t alone the day her contraptions started. She was clearing the table during yet another evening with them, when a sudden pain in her low abdomen made her drop the china plate she was carrying, sending it crashing to the ground. Distractedly, she thought that she really ought to start buying unbreakable china.

Neal was immediately at her side, and in the blink of an eye they were driving toward the hospital. Henry was extremely tense: childbirth in his family had never gone smoothly, and he could only hope this would be the exception. 

“I don’t like the hospital,” she whimpered helplessly as they neared the building. She had so many unpleasant memories of that place, and all of her old fears had started to resurface since the day Rumple had died. No one had ever made her feel safe like he did, and now he was gone forever. 

“Don’t worry, grand… Belle. We’re with you”, Henry reassured her. The rest of the night was a blur of faces, white walls, and pain. Henry and Neal waited outside the room, but when Aurora came Belle told the doctors to let her in. She couldn’t do this alone, and Aurora was the closest friend that she had.

Belle held her hand so tightly she was afraid she might break it, and when she closed her eyes she tried to imagine it was Rumple’s hand that she was holding. 

Her daughter wasn’t the only one to cry when she was finally born. Belle clutched her close to her chest and was almost overwhelmed by the love she felt bubbling in her chest. She loved Neal as a son, she’d loved her daughter since she’d known she was on her way into the world, but this was different, this was so much more. 

“He would have been so happy”. It was all she could say, and Aurora just hugged her tightly, careful not hurt the baby. She was so good at understanding when words were unnecessary. 

Belle left the hospital two days later and, with her daughter in her life, things started to change. Some drastically, some gradually, but change they did. 

Time and motherhood stated to soothe her pain; she smiled more frequently and more sincerely, she started seeing her friends more often, she joined the group of first-time mothers, and she was finally kept awake at night by something that wasn’t her sorrow. Though she’d gladly skip her daughter’s nightly shrieks.

She moved to a new house, one free of bittersweet memories, and Neal helped her decorate the walls of the baby’s room. He really had a talent for drawing.

Obviously, there were still moments when sadness took over and grief threatened to drown her. When those times came she cancelled every commitment and allowed herself to cry, watching her daughter sleep peacefully, keeping her sobs quiet to make sure she wouldn’t wake her up. 

One of those moments had just passed when Neal knocked on the door. He’d stopped by to offer to babysit his little sister for the rest of the afternoon. As soon as he saw Belle and noticed her tearstained cheeks, he dropped the idea altogether and hugged her, made her a cup of tea then asked her if she wanted to talk about it. 

“I just… I just miss him so much. And sometimes it seems too much to bear. I constantly imagine how everything would be like if he were here”, Belle admitted.

“I’m so sorry, Belle. I just wish you hadn’t had to go through this because of me”, Neal whispered. Sharply, she looked up from the tea, her pain now mingling with shock.

“What… no! That’s not what I meant! Rumple knew what he was doing when he gave his life for you, and I would have done the same thing. I would never change that”.

Her reassurances were true. As much as the loss of her love pained her, she knew that Rumple had wanted this, had wanted his son to live, and every day she spent with her daughter helped her realize how much the loss of his son must have destroyed Rumple. She loved Neal like he was her own son, but to watch your flesh and blood grow up and have him die in front of your eyes… She wondered how Rumple had even managed to survive that. 

“I just think it’s unfair that we never got a chance to be a proper family, to be happy together. First you were missing, then I was amnesiac, then we thought you were dead, then Rumple was gone, then _you_ were gone, and from that moment everything started to fall apart. And now Rumple will never even get to see his daughter’s face. And it’s not fair to him, because his biggest desire has always been to see his family happy and safe, and it seems that we can only be that with him gone”. Belle had tears in her eyes again, and Neal was at a loss of what to do. 

“Why does everyone else get their happy ending while Rumple always suffers, no matter what he does? He gave up so much for us, and so many times; he died a hero, and yet he’s stuck in the Underworld, punished like the worst of villains”. Belle was sobbing once more, and only now that the words were out she realized that _this_ was what had been tearing her apart from the inside. Guilt. Guilt because once more Rumple had sacrificed his happiness for them, for _her._ For her who’d banished him and shut him out and broken his heart. And now she had no way to make it up to him, to make sure that at least he wasn’t suffering.

“I don’t know, Belle. I don’t know”. But as he hugged her, a dangerous idea started to form in his mind.

* * *

It took him days of research into the pawnshop (Belle had given him the keys ages before), but he finally found what he was looking for: a spell to summon Hades.

“No way. We’re not doing this, it’s too dangerous. I know that you want to help me and I thank you, but we won’t try it out. You do remember what happened the last time we used magic for Rumple’s sake, and I don’t want any more prices of magic to pay for”, Belle stated firmly when he shared his idea with her.

“But, Belle, we’re not trying to bring him back! I just want to summon Hades to know why Papa has to suffer. I’ve read everything about the spell, and it’s perfectly safe”.

“And once Hades tells us he won’t spare Rumple’s soul, what will we do? What will _he_ do? What if he tricks us?”. She stepped away from Neal, but he followed her and closed the distance once more.

“Belle, please. We’ll try this just one time and, if it doesn’t work, I’ll never bother you again with this kind of idea. But we have to try; not just for Papa, for you too.” She didn’t answer after that, and Neal was already giving up any hope that she would change her mind when, a week later, she phoned him.

“I’ve been thinking a lot in the past days”, she admitted, “and maybe you’re right, maybe this really could be a good idea. Let’s do it”.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter!  
> The friendship between Aurora and Belle is one of my headcanons, because I can really see those two getting along U.U  
> The last chapter will be posted in a week (I couldn't wait and I posted this one on Sunday instead of Monday).


	3. Goodbye, My Lover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle and Neal's plan gets into motion. Hades appears and tears are shed.

Casting the spell wasn’t difficult at all. They set everything ready in the back room of the pawnshop, and Belle held her breath as a drop of her blood, the last ingredient of the potion, fell into the cauldron. The liquid fizzled and bubbled, turning bright red, and then a thick, dark smoke came out of it; slowly, in the middle of it appeared Hades. Well, at least a projection of him. It was similar to the sand-dollar message Rumple had sent her from Neverland.

“Well, look who’s there. Feeling nostalgic of the Underworld, Baelfire?”. Belle stepped in front of her step-son, shielding him from the god’s gaze.

“Leave him out of this. _I_ am the one who summoned you”, she said, brazen and defiant as if she weren’t talking to a deity. 

“Fine. What can I do for you, _milady_?”. There was something in Hades that set Belle’s teeth on edge, but she held his gaze and didn’t flinch. She knew better than to show fear in front of a potential enemy.

“I want answers. I want to know if Rumplestiltskin is suffering and, if he is, why.”

“Well, because he’s a villain, of course”, Hades answered, and Belle stepped closer to him, rage giving her courage.

“He’s not! He’s been heroic so many times, saved so many lives, and always got suffering and loneliness in return. He died a hero to grant his family a happy ending, he doesn’t deserve to be punished!”.

Hades lifted a hand to silence her. “I’m afraid, milady, that you are not allowed to tell me how to do my job. What you say may be true, but Rumplestiltskin also committed more crimes than you could ever imagine. His heart is corrupted by darkness.”

“But that is the curse’s fault, not his!”

“And that, I’m afraid, is the heart of the problem. The curse is still tethered to him. When he died, he trapped it in the Underworld with him. The punishment he’s undergoing is the curse’s, not his, but magic has its own balance and Rumplestiltskin rid the world from the darkest magic of all; this is the price he has to pay for it”.

Belle couldn’t believe to her ears. “But that’s so unfair! I’ve read about you, and I know that you’re not as cruel as people say, and far more just than what they give you credit for, so tell me: how do I help him?”

“You can’t”. He was playing with her, but Belle wasn’t going to let him win.

“But you can, don’t you?”

“Maybe”. He stepped even closer to her, so much that she could have felt his breath on her face had him been real.

“You know what? I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you a few minutes with your precious true love and according on how he’ll behave during that time, his fate in the afterlife may or may not change”.

Belle felt as though breath had been knocked out of her. “You’ll let me see him? Talk to him?”

“Yes, but if you want the deal to be valid, none of you shall tell him that those minutes will decide his fate. As I said, this is not something you can change: it has to be him.”

“Deal”. With one last, chilling smile Hades disappeared, and Belle didn’t even have the time to catch her breath before her husband appeared before her.

“Belle.”

“Rumple…”.

After a split second of pure happiness, his eyes widened in terror. “What have you done? I begged Bae not to bring me back!”.

She held her hands in front of herself, trying to calm him down. “It’s alright, Rumple, we are not trying anything dangerous. Hades just gave us a few last minutes together”.

She smiled sadly at him, and one second later he threw himself towards her, wanting nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and never let go. But his arms went through her body without touching it. He was nothing but a ghost, not really there, and touch was something reserved to the living.

“I guess I should have known that”. He tried to mask the sadness in his voice, but there was no hiding the tears forming in his eyes. “I love you so much.”

“And I love you too. And I have missed you”, Belle whispered. Words were failing her right now when she needed them the most. How, how to express everything she felt in so little time? But there was something she did know she wanted to do. She walked over to the pram where her daughter was resting and gently cradled her in her arms, then she turned back to Rumplestiltskin. 

“I thought you ought to see her at least one time”. The baby gurgled happily in her mother’s arms, then her eyes opened and went on Rumplestiltskin. She was just like her mother, with eyes so blue and so intense, and when Rumplestiltskin finally took her in he felt he could have died again out of sheer joy.

“She’s beautiful”.

Belle smiled between tears, dreaming for a moment that it wasn't a goodbye, that her husband was really there. “Her name is Lucy. She was born on the 12th of February, exactly six months and four days ago. Lucy, this is your papa”.

And even though Rumplestiltskin knew he wouldn’t be able to touch her, he still raised his hand and put it more or less on the baby’s head; only the ghost of a caress, but a caress nonetheless. When he finally talked again, his voice was broken.

“Please, tell her how much I love her. Don’t let her feel like I abandoned her, please.”

“There won’t be a single day when I don’t tell her about you and about how much you loved her, how much you loved _us_ ”. She handed the child to Neal, afraid that the emotional breakdown she knew she was about to have would upset her daughter.

“Belle, this… our family, is all I’ve ever wanted. I’ve always loved you more than my power-”.

She stopped him before he could spend more of their precious time apologizing for things she’d already forgiven him for, or that had never needed to be forgiven in the first place. 

“I know. And _I_ am the one who’s sorry. I didn’t understand you, I turned my back on you, and yet you never stopped loving me. I didn’t deserve you.”

“Sweetheart, you stood by me more than anyone ever did.”

“And you made me the happiest woman on earth. We've hurt each other a lot, but nothing has ever managed to destroy our love. And neither will death”.

He shook his head at that. “Belle, please, promise me you’ll move on. You deserve happiness.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. It’s hard to move on when you haven’t even said goodbye.”

“Then I guess this is our goodbye then?”, Rumple asked. She didn’t want to admit it, she wanted to keep him here with her forever, but there were things even her stubbornness couldn’t change. 

“I’m afraid it is”. She wished she could hug him, hold onto him one last time and feel her fears melt away in his warm embrace, but that was a gift she wouldn’t be given. 

“Then let’s make it a proper one”. He leaned down as if to kiss her and Belle leaned towards him, ready to watch their lips connect without feeling anything.

Then something happened. When their lips met, she could feel his soft ones against her own. She closed her eyes and tried to wrap her arms around him, but realized that he was still mostly incorporeal. His lips were real, though. Their love had made their kiss real.

And then a second unexpected thing happened: a wave of magic burst out from their joined lips. _True Love_ ’s magic. Their kiss was breaking the curse it hadn’t managed to break so many years before, when she was just a maid in a castle and he was a monster who’d fallen in love with her light. 

Realization dawned upon Belle: this was the test Rumplestiltskin was supposed to pass, this was the choice he had to make to get his peace! He was choosing love and love was saving him, chasing away the darkness once and for all. 

When they broke the kiss she was smiling, true love’s magic still tingling through her veins. She was looking for something to say, when he stared at her and whispered: “Kiss me again; it’s working”.

Her smile was brighter than the sun when she leaned towards him one more time, but her lips only met the air, passing through his without touching them. She looked up at him in confusion and watched in horror as he stared at his hands, which were becoming transparent: he was fading away. 

“I guess this was just never meant to be. That _we_ were never meant to be”. The resignation in his voice was impossible to bear for Belle.

“Don’t you ever say that. Our love has just destroyed the greatest darkness of all times, so don’t you dare tell me that it wasn't meant to be. Our love is real, our love is meaningful, and I don’t want you to think less of us just because the world got in our way. I love you. I always have and always will, even if you’ll be gone”.

His arms and legs had almost completely disappeared by now.

“No, Belle, you have to promise me you’ll move on. Promise me you won’t close your heart to love, promise me you’ll do anything to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you”.

Tears were running down her cheeks, and she wasn’t even bothering to wipe them away anymore. “I’ll try. I’ll try to be as happy as I’ll manage. But you have to know that a part of my heart will always belong to you”.

Only his face and torso were visible now.

“As my heart will always belong to you. Don’t worry for me, I’ll finally have the peace I’ve been searching for so long. And every time our child smiles, you’ll know that I’ll be smiling too.”

“I love you, Rumple”.

Only his face was left.

“And I love you too, Belle. Goodbye”. And as his eyes disappeared and his last goodbye seemed to linger in the air, Belle fell on the floor, crying inconsolably for her lost love.

* * *

“Mommy, can you tell me a story? I had a nightmare”.

Belle smiled and got into her daughter’s bed. She was growing up so fast, her Lucy, and Belle cherished these moments of closeness every day more, because she knew that way too soon the time of bed sharing and fairytale telling would be gone. It was probably selfish, but she couldn’t help it. Her daughter had been the centre of her life for the past years, and she knew that she would have to learn how to live without her constant presence as her baby became more and more independent. 

But for now, she was still just a child.

“So, what tale would you like to hear? What could keep those nasty nightmares away?”

“Can you tell me about my Papa again?”.

She had kept her promise to Rumple; she’d told Lucy about him again and again, so many times that she’d been afraid her daughter would get tired of it. But she didn’t. Lucy always asked about him, listening with fascination to the tales she’d already heard dozens of times. She’d even asked Henry to borrow his book more than once, so that her mother could read to her all the stories about her dad and show her all the illustrations that pictured a scaly imp with crooked teeth and golden skin. She’d never been afraid of it.

“What do  you want to hear about Papa?” 

“Tell me again how he saved you from the Queens of Darkness. If he could face a woman who could turn into a dragon, I’m sure he can keep the nightmares away, right?” 

“Of course”. Lucy had magic; not the Dark One’s, but the one which was born out of True Love. She had magic as pure and light as a kiss in a fairytale. She had Belle’s eyes, but everything else in her screamed that she was the daughter of Rumplestiltskin. 

“Mommy, Papa was a real hero, wasn’t he?”.

Belle kissed her daughter’s head, closing her eyes to bling away the tears. “Yes, sweetheart. He was”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was the last chapter.  
> I believe the Doctor Who episode "The Name of the Doctor" gave me some kind of inspiration for this, but I'm not really sure.  
> I really, really loved writing this fic, and I hope it didn't break your hearts too much *hides in fear of heartbroken readers*


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